A Wayward Sky
by NenePasciele
Summary: Upon finding another Estraneo Lab, Giotto and his guardians are surprised to find children being experimented on. The kids they find are not particularly normal, plus he feels that they are harboring something terrible and are part of something more dangerous than he can imagine... despite this, he still decides to take them into his home, but how will he and his guardians fare?
1. Chapter 1: Break In Break Out

**Chiwassu~~~~~  
><strong>**So so so….. before those who've read any of my other stories start to complain I have something to say  
><strong>**I've always wanted to try this  
><strong>**So I'll leave it as a test chapter  
><strong>**And if you guys like it, I'll write for it occasionally or until I complete another story**

**Here's a summary:  
><strong>After discovering yet another laboratory of the Estraneo Famiglia, Giotto and his guardians attack the building and those torturing their test subjects inside, but once they were almost certain that they had taken out most of the enemies, surprisingly, they discover that this facility had tested on kids that had been reported as missing and even encountered a group of survivors. At Giotto's demand, they take the kids back to their home but with their once small vigilante turned mafia group, how could they even think of taking in kids and what are they supposed to do with them?

**It's a little weak I know but this was a spur of the moment kind of thing  
><strong>**So I hope you guys will like it XDDD  
><strong>**WARNING: there may be some character deaths… just in case**

**And welcome to A Wayward Sky…  
><strong>**Saa~ story start!**

* * *

><p>Chapter 1: Break In, Break Out<p>

"Such a disgusting thing." A man with red hair spat as he and his group stealthily approached a large facility hidden behind years and years' worth of vine growth which made the place even more difficult to find. And though it couldn't really be seen behind the wall of vines, the building was more wide than tall seemingly one to two storeys high. It was painted a dull gray, sporting many cracks visible between the clumps of foliage and had a large opaque glass dome attached to the right side of the building.

"Hush G." A blond man silenced his member. The group, consisting of 5 men, all wore dark capes with their hoods over their heads. "We are still unaware of the security that they have surrounding the area. Just because we were able to find the building seemingly undetected doesn't mean that they don't know we're here. For all we know, they could be luring us into a trap."

"Sorry Giotto." The red haired man, now known as G, apologized to his boss but the look and feeling of disgust remained in his expression.

"Well, I do agree that it is a horrid place." The dark haired man added.

"The least they could do is clean up this dump." The youngest seemed dissatisfied with the place's appearance and dreaded even being in the presence of it.

"May all these lost souls be blessed." The black haired who carried a bible bowed his head slightly in respect. Giotto then started to scan the area to see if they were clear to approach, after a moment he then motioned for them to move towards the entrance.

"Hey Giotto, where's the parole officer?" The green haired boy questioned as they snuck their way towards the entrance.

"You know him, Lampo. That skylark is always going off by himself." G muttered.

"Maa, I'm sure he's already found his way inside or disabled the security somehow. That was the plan we had before we separated from the mansion." The dark haired mentioned.

"That could be another reason why we haven't met with any trouble yet either." The priest glanced around as they huddled at either side of the door way. Lampo then glanced quickly through the window and checked the hall and signalled that it was clear. They then opened the door slightly and rushed inside. Inside was slightly dark as many of the lights were either damaged or burnt out but the small group had managed to make their way towards the main hall where the room connected to many different areas of the building and some led down towards the basement floors.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone on this main floor and that dome doesn't look like it's in use either." G noted. "Asari, what does that map by the elevator say?" He questioned.

"There are also several basement levels as well." He answered. "I'm sure that the top is just a glimpse of the whole."

"We shouldn't take any risks, so one of us should stay up here and clear any hazards that could prevent us from escaping. And that includes the enemies lurking around inside and possibly out." Giotto told them. Just then the black haired man volunteered himself as he took his hood off his head. "You sure, Knuckle? We don't know how many may come here if we start making a commotion in the below floors." The blond emphasized. Suddenly there was a large rumble that caused the building to quake and threw the men off balance for a moment.

"I think Alaude is already at work down in the basements." Asari cracked a small smile.

"Then that just leaves that stupid melon head, Daemon. He's just as bad as the other is." G's sour expression didn't change.

"Well wherever he is, I'm sure that he has a good reason to be absent at the moment." Giotto tried to calm his friend. "He also knows about the mission and left approximate coordinates for him, so he'll show up eventually." The rumbling started to get stronger and stronger and the cracks around the walls expanded and enlarged.

"It might be safer if we take the stairs." Lampo pointed towards the stairwell. "Though with Alaude rampaging, I'm not sure how much safer." He said in a sarcastic tone.

"Whatever, the sooner we go the faster we get to go home." G pushed the smaller one towards the stairs. The other two just exchanged glances then nodded towards the priest before heading down. As they ran down the stairs they had met with many people rushing up the stairs to get away from the murderous brute on below floors but as they met the small group, they were knocked out and cast aside. Many of the famiglia members weren't trained fighters so they were easy to take down. They just decided to let the Vindice cleanup when they showed up later.

"It's a sad thing what desperation, revenge and hate could do to a family." Asari looked at the people.

"Enough chat, there are more coming." G said, taking down a few more guys who carried scalpels as weapons this time. "Here's the first door, so who's going first?" The red haired man looked at his companions.

"Lampo should take this floor, it'll be quicker for him to escape just in case." Asari responded.

"You saying that I'm slow?" Lampo looked slightly offended.

"Yes you are and you get scared easily now go and don't blow anything up. You might collapse the whole building if Alaude doesn't do it first." G opened the door and pushed the smaller male once again into the direction he wanted him to go. "And go meet up with Knuckle when you finish." He then slammed the door and the group proceed further down. Asari entered the next floor and G the next, though he did so reluctantly, not wanting to leave Giotto alone but the blond reassured that he would be fine and that he had to make sure Alaude didn't do too much damage that they couldn't search the place afterwards.

Giotto moved to the fourth level below ground and entered, assuming that Alaude was there. He opened the door and saw many men passed out and scattered throughout the hall. There were a few doors but they all were swung wide open and riddled with a few more casualties. The rumbling had stopped a little while ago but he had heard another assuming that G blew something up. "Even after telling Lampo that he might knock the building over." Giotto sighed. He then continued walking until he reached the last room which was a lab research room. He entered and immediately covered his nose as the place reeked with the stench of blood.

"Alaude?" He peered in and saw the platinum blond man standing in the midst of a few conscious scientists.

"Tell me what you have done here!" The man demanded, ignoring the presence of the new person. Giotto looked around and saw that there were blood splatters reaching almost everywhere on the walls, the ceiling, the floor... especially around what looked like an examining table. The blond knew that his subordinate didn't cause some of these but couldn't help but wonder what did. He then noticed a closet and walked over to it. He was about to open it when a scientist called out to him.

"If you are weak stomached, I wouldn't open that if I were you." He murmured.

"When we heard people screaming from above, we quickly tried to hide all the evidence of our experimentations." The other added.

"Shut up." Alaude kicked them back into place. The third man trembled in fear of being abused further. Alaude's loud voice shocked Giotto a bit and he hit the door knob, causing the door to open slightly and what fell out shocked him even further and even managed to surprise the other blond behind him. Out from the small opening fell a limp bony hand, which slid forward inch by inch until the door was pushed open by the rest of the body. Giotto's eyes widened as he covered his mouth, turning his back in disgust as he realized that it was the body of a young girl no more than 5 or 6 and under her, more unmoving children who reeked of rotting flesh. Being associated with the mafia, he knew he should have been used to this and unfortunately, he was... but those corpses were adults, not innocent children who knew not of the ugly side of the world.

Alaude's eyes narrowed and locked on the scientists who shrank under his glare. "I asked you what have you done here!?" He yelled out, grabbing the shirt of the man in the middle who was trembling more than a newborn calf.

"P-P-Ple-e-eaaaase d-d-d-don't-t-t hu-hu-hur..t m-m-m-eeeeee" He begged for his life.

"I-It's what o-our fam..iglia d-does at e-every f-f-facility..." one on the ground muttered cautiously slowly losing his stutter and his eyes going wild with curiosity and wonder. "experiment on our and other famiglia's children so as to develop super weapons to defend our slowly dying famiglia. And once we succeed, we will take over the under and overworld. AAAHHHHAHAHAHAHAAAA!" He cackled crazily as the one beside him looked at him in fear. In anger, Alaude threw the man in his hands on top of the crazy fool harshly and restrained himself from killing them on spot.

Just then, they heard a hand slap against the floor and they turned towards the little girl who peaked through her ruined hair and reached a hand out towards the scientists. "O-O-Otou-ch-ch-aaan, i-it h-hurrrts. I-I-Itaii yooo~~." She started tearing as she continued to chant in her raspy, tired voice. Soon her voice got weaker and weaker and her reaching soon ceased. Giotto and Alaude only watched wrenchingly, knowing that there wasn't anything they could do for her.

"The rumours were right when they said that you were a brutal famiglia, using your own children as guinea pigs for your own selfish reasons." Giotto's hands tightened into fists and he suddenly went into hyper dying will mode and even though this interested Alaude, he knew better than to interrupt Giotto when he got like this. The blond took a step towards the scientists until someone else called out to him.

"Step down Vongola Primo." Giotto turned his head towards the entrance and saw 3 shadowy figures covered in bandages and a few more members behind them.

"Vindice. I guess everyone else is done upstairs." Primo said as he reverted back to his normal self.

"Hn." Alaude also knew that it wasn't smart to go against the Vindice as well.

"We shall take things from here." And soon, they chained all the unconscious men and the three trembling scientists and commenced to drag them away to where they assumed would be Vendicare. They all had then disappeared in a thick dark fog which decipitated after a few moments and the room was void of the bodies that once littered it. Soon after, G and Asari ran down the stairs and into the room where they still stood frozen.

"Giotto, you alright?" G sounded worried when his friend didn't acknowledge his presence until he noticed the body of a little girl near his feet.

"What happened?" Asari was getting worried as well when even Alaude didn't make a move.

"They were experimenting." Was all Giotto voiced.

"W-We know that. We raided their other buildings and labs before to-" G started but was immediately cut off by Alaude's icy tone.

"With _children_." He emphasized and walked past him and the other.

"So this little girl..." The redhead looked down at the miserable bundle sprawled on the ground and finally noticed the scars, cuts and bruises that littered the girl on her one extended arm.

"Where are you going Alaude?" Asari looked towards the platinum blond.

"There may be survivors." He paused to answer before moving once again.

"You both didn't find anyone on the other floors?" Giotto questioned.

"Just scientists. We met up with Knuckle and Daemon upstairs who said that there were many that started to swarm into the main entrance hall after we left down the stairs and they said that some from the second floor and some others got away." G explained.

"He also mentioned that they were seemingly carrying heavy bundles that some of the more experienced fighters were trying to protect. They blocked them off as they loaded some emergency vehicles that they had hidden before driving away."

"There's one more floor isn't there? Maybe that's where they kept the kids." Giotto led them down the stairs and into the final floor where it was cold and dungeon-like. The stepped through the floor and noticed that it was really unsanitary for anyone to be kept here and started to question if there was anyone who could really survive here. They then saw Alaude kneeling down by one of the cells, trying to break the lock. Giotto and the other two looked over his shoulder to see a small group of kids huddled in the corner.

In the front stood a Japanese looking boy who looked about 10 and wore a tattered shirt and shorts and he seemed to push behind him a small curly haired boy and a frail looking girl with navy blue hair which spilled all over her face and she wore what seemed to be a once white dress which had several blood stains on it. She hugged the smaller boy in her arms. "No worries little ones, we won't harm you." Asari tried to soothe them but the older boy still looked defiant.

"Y-You are all liars. All you d-do is t-take away our f-friends." He was scared beyond belief but it surprised them that he still stood up to them. Giotto decided that he should try this time.

"I understand that you are having trouble believing us but those bad men who hurt you are gone now and they won't ever come back to hurt you again. We just want to help you get back to your families if that's what you truly wish." The boy seemed to waver a little but was still wary of them until the little girl spoke up.

"M-Mama a-and Papa a-are dead. Th-they di-didn't want N-Nagi and sold her to b-bad men." She quivered as she spoke and the men assumed that she was referring to herself.

"Lambo-s-san t-too."

"What about you?" Asari looked at the other. The boy seemed to hesitate before he finally gave in as he looked at the two behind him.

"My famiglia was killed by an opposing family and I was suddenly taken by these men here along with some other kids while the chaos was happening." He explained and slowly let his guard drop but it came back up when he got startled when Alaude finally broke open the lock.

"So you were kidnapped." G pieced together. The boy nodded while the two didn't move.

"You said that others were taken with you, do you know where they are? Are there any more others here that you know?" Giotto questioned the kids, feeling horrible but it was for the sake of the other casualties.

"They're almost all dead." The young boy muttered darkly. G and Asari then started searching around in the other cells but they found that they were either empty or contained dead bodies which made them both sick to their stomachs.

"There's only the three of them in here." G reported.

"Wh-Where's Onii-sama?" Nagi tugged on the remains of the older boy's shirt.

"I don't know Chrome but he said that he didn't want you to refer to yourself as Nagi anymore, remember?" She nodded slowly.

"So would you know all the other test subjects?" Giotto hated to do this but he really needed to know. The boy only shook his head.

"I only know Chrome because I met her brother and he left quite an impression that makes him memorable. The people in each cell change all the time and ones that they think are special they keep upstairs near the giant dome." They were surprised that the boy was giving them the answers so freely and easily even though they thought of this as touchy and traumatic to talk about.

"I think those kids must be the 'seemingly heavy bundles' that Knuckle mentioned." G murmured partly to himself.

"So other than Chrome, do you know each other's names?" Asari looked at them.

"H-He's number 80-san and th-this is number 36-kun." Chrome mumbled.

"You have number labels?" Giotto said surprised. They all nodded.

"Do you know your name?" G asked number 80 if he remembered.

"Yamamoto Takeshi." He said soullessly.

"So which friends do you kids remember?" The kids exchanged glances before answering the blond man.

"Onii-sama is 69, Na..er Ch-Chrome is 96 and there's number 49 and number 14." Chrome answered the ones that she remembered.

"Lambo-san remembers 33 onii-chan and aho 59 onii-chan."

"I know who they remember and numbers 47, 75, 38, 55, 53, 102, 81, 82, 83, 12 and 27."  
>(AN: I made these numbers up so ones that you don't recognize, don't go looking for them)

"I see. Well how about we all head back up and let's see if my other friends have found any of your friends." Giotto motioned that they follow him. Takeshi and Lambo followed quite easily but they both struggled to support Chrome who seemed to have trouble using her legs.

"Here, I'll carry you." Alaude offered and picked up the girl, which surprised his companions but they didn't dare say a word of it. They all wanted to know what had happened to these children but they couldn't bear to ask any more questions relating to this subject. So they decided to leave it till the time was right or until the kids brought it up themselves. But as they walked up the stairs, the kids could all feel the curiosity that the adults had. Takeshi looked at Lambo before speaking up.

"If you are curious about what happened, it's fine to ask." Takeshi said maturely.

"Uh..." The four were speechless at the 10 year old's words.

"Yes we are curious but we feel that it's more respectful of us to let you speak of it on your own terms and not because we want to know." Giotto reassured.

"Well it's suffocating, knowing that you want to ask and are making the air tense." The boy rebutted. "I don't know what they wanted to try on me but they just gave me injections that made my body burn." He started. "It felt like they were pulling me apart when they were just watching me and my reactions. It was like they were trying to see my limit or something and they threw me in rooms where they made me fight things and sometimes other kids too."

"Lambo-san was shocked by lightning." The smaller boy decided to throw in suddenly. "Sometimes they tied me to the roof when it rains."

"And then Chrome..." Takeshi looked at the girl before continuing, knowing that she wouldn't be able to say it for herself. "they... took away her o-organs, I think, and they sold them to get more money for their research." The men all gaped at his words before turning towards the girl who hid herself in Alaude's shoulder not liking all the sudden attention. He then gave them a 'don't stare at her or I'll kill you' glare.

"I-if you do-don't mind my asking... ho-" before G finished Takeshi answered right away, not wanting to hear the rest.

"Her brother somehow made her new ones, or so he claimed. And when those people found out, they started testing on her again instead of throwing her away like the others." That phrase made their stomachs churn for the umpteenth time that day.

'_...throw away...the others...' _that echoed in their minds.

"Wait, she has new organs?" G was puzzled by that. "How could her brother give her new organs unless..."

"He didn't give her his if that's what you're thinking, but she works just fine right now."

"Illusions." Alaude said simply.

"But how can a child be able to support that kind of illusion?" G argued.

"There isn't much that you could say is impossible here." Lambo said ominously as they finally reached the top floor. They then walked outside towards where the rest of their group was waiting. However they weren't the only ones there as they spotted another child with silver hair and a scowl on his face. As they approached Lambo finally recognized the boy.

"Ah aho 59 onii-chan." He exclaimed as he pointed.

"Shut up you stupid cow!" He yelled back.

"Hey, it isn't nice to call each other names. Even if he is younger than you, you should speak respectably." Knuckle scolded lightly. The smaller boy just crossed his arms and disregarded his words.

"So this is one of your friends?" Giotto looked at Lambo.

"Yeah." He nodded, happy that someone he knew was saved as well.

"Nufufufu~ I never imagined that I would see the great Alaude carry a child." Daemon taunted.

"She can't walk." He brushed off the taunt coolly as he placed Chrome down with the other kids.

"Were you with the others?" Takeshi suddenly asked as he walked up to the silver haired boy but he didn't respond and only glared at him. "You were above ground right? Where are they?" the Japanese boy's tone sounded a bit more threatening.

"Were you with Onii-sama?" Chrome eyes lit up in worry but still he didn't respond.

"Everyone else downstairs is gone, even Eva-chan who was on the fourth floor." Giotto guessed that Takeshi was referring to that scientist's daughter.

"I think some were in the dome, others were taken but they didn't have enough time to come get me. That was when that broccoli head came by." He pointed towards Lampo who stuck his tongue out childishly at the kid who returned the favor.

"Did you check the dome?" Giotto looked at Knuckle.

"I looked through the window of the door because there was a heavy duty lock on it and I saw some gas floating around inside. The inside looked like a tropical rainforest but the trees were all wilted and there were also some... bodies that were scattered around on the ground. Bless their souls."

"I see." The blond fully understood what had happened.

"They must've put ones that they thought were useless in there and got rid of them that way." The silverette said with disgust.

"Ohh..." Chrome collapsed to her knees.

"Chrome-nee, what's wrong?" Lambo knelt beside her.

"49-san and 14-san were taken there before." She cried. The silverette then looked at her, startled that she broke down.

"O-Oi, I saw them the other day, j-just so you know." He knelt down too.

"R-Really?" Chrome wiped her face and looked at him.

"Y-yeah, I think so. They were taken there but they came back out alright. Even the small fragile kid went in and came back out alright." He tried to reassure her.

"You mean they took 27 in there too?" Takeshi looked at him straight in the eyes and demanded he answer.

"Yeah and he was one of the first kids that they shoved in a bag and ran away with."

"So he's one of the survivors, huh? I heard that all of the numbers between 20 and 29 were wiped out because of a new serum that they wanted to test."

"They were. Except him that is but no one knows what it was. All we knew was they it was extremely painful to listen to and must be even worse to go through." The adults just listened to the kids talk and they were shocked at the way they communicated with each other. They hardly knew each other let alone each other's names but they exchanged information so easily and comforted each other as if they were friends for years.

"So what's your name then?" Giotto knelt down with them and interrupted the conversation.

"I won't give up mine until you say yours." He glared at the man hard.

"I'm Vongola Primo, but please call me Giotto."

"Gokudera Hayato." He said with reluctance. The blonde's eyes then widened as he recognized the boy's last name. His dad was the head of a small famiglia and they were in an alliance until they were suddenly wiped out by a surprise attack. They had called and they left quickly but by the time they were there, it was already too late. _"Was the Estraneo behind these attacks?"_ He wondered but then shook his head of the thoughts and decided to think on it later again.

"So you all don't have anywhere to go then huh?" He looked at them.

"Uhh no. No, no, no, no, no... you aren't thinking what I think you're thinking, are you Giotto?" Lampo barged into the conversation.

"Under our circumstances, I don't think that's very wise." Daemon agreed with the green haired boy.

"Aren't we busy enough? We aren't a daycare center, Giotto and I don't need brats running around the mansion and ruining everything." G scowled.

"We aren't brats and we won't ruin anything. Not that I'd want to come and live with you or anything. You seem like a stick in the mud." Hayato shared his scowl and ironically, the two looked very much alike and Giotto couldn't help but laugh at the resemblance.

"If I didn't know any better, he is your long lost brother or son or something." Asari then slowly joined Giotto in his laughter and Knuckle then Lampo started to laugh as well.

"He's more like a mini-me than anything else." Daemon commented with a snicker. Alaude just crossed his arms and turned away.

"Come on, you don't want to toss these guys out on the street and poor Chrome-chan can't walk. And they can't even support themselves let alone survive on the streets." Asari played the sympathy card and used Lambo and Chrome who were the most perfect defense and offense. After a little staring contest, G finally caved to which Knuckle cheered. Alaude didn't really mind having the kids at the house since he was rarely home anyways. Lampo caved next and Daemon had no choice but to give in too.

"So are you kids willing to stay with us then?"

"But we barely know you." Takeshi muttered.

"Then we'll get to know each other." Asari reassured. The young boy then looked at Chrome who nodded.

"We have a condition." He told them and they were all ears. "You have to help us get our friends back and help save the other survivors." Giotto just smiled and ruffled his hair.

"You have yourself a deal and welcome to my family."

**Ahhh now that I'm looking over it... I feel like the story's a little lame (_ _")  
><strong>**But I hope you guys enjoyed it  
><strong>**Though I have no idea what I'm gonna do with it since it's just a test  
><strong>**And like I said, it was a spur of the moment kind of story**

**Also, the theme might be a little cliché  
><strong>**You know the whole 1st gen meets the 10th gen  
><strong>**But I really wanted to try this theme at least once XDDD  
><strong>**So thanks for reading ^^  
><strong>**owari desu~~~~**

updated: 15/07/2014


	2. Chapter 2: Touring the Mansion

**Chiwassu minna~~~~~ and sorry I haven't been around a lot  
><strong>**But I'm glad you guys like this  
><strong>**And to answer **_**L's Cappuccino's **_**question: I guess this'll be set in the past which will be a bit more modernized I guess you could say  
><strong>

**Sorry, maybe that didn't help so much  
><strong>**Let's just say it's an AU where things'll happen when they happen  
><strong>**And fair warning, I'm just going on impulse right now, so I have no idea where I'm going with this but I will eventually  
><strong>**I wanted to use this story as an opportunity to change my writing style a bit but it's hard to break old habits**

Ahh and just so we're clear:  
>Lambo – 6 years old<br>Chrome – 8/9 years old  
>TsunaGokudera/Yamamoto – 9/10 years old  
>Ryohei – 1011 years old  
>HibariMukuro – 12 years old  
>Lampo – 20 years old<br>Giotto/G/Asari – 24 years old  
>Alaude – 25 years old<br>Knuckle/Daemon – 25/26 years old

*** the slashed numbers mean that they will eventually all turn the higher number (just in case)  
>so Tsuna and Gokudera are both 9 but will eventually turn 10 while Yamamoto's already 10<p>

**Questions? Feel free to review or PM me~~~~  
><strong>**Saa let's get started~~~~**

**Quick Disclaimer: (I'll say this once for now)  
><strong>**I don't own any rights to story elements except ideas that I came up with on my own… if there are any elements that seem familiar, it is possible that I've been influenced by another writer (completely by accident of course) but if you do happen to catch something, please tell me and I will fix it**

* * *

><p>Chapter 2: Touring the Mansion<p>

Giotto and his guardians, soon after making the deal with the kids, decided to head home. However, their ride was pretty far from where they were and they had 4 fragile kids with them. Also, it wasn't until they were in daylight that they saw the extent of the children's injuries and it made them hurt just looking at them. So Knuckle suggested that he try and heal them as best he can but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't heal their injuries for some strange reason.

"It's okay, when those science guys did care and brought in someone who knew how to use sun flames, they didn't work either." Takeshi explained as he reluctantly watched Knuckle wrap his arm.

"It worked before, but maybe broke." Lambo mentioned.

"I guess he is still a kid." Takeshi looked at the 6 year old with dull eyes.

"He still has the idiot mind of one, that's for sure." Hayato mumbled annoyed.

"Are you two forgetting that you're still kids?" G looked at them skeptically. The two looked back towards him, Takeshi void of expression and Hayato with a scowl.

"That depends on your definition." The raven haired boy responded simply.

"If I may, how old are you kids? Do you remember?" Asari asked. The four exchanged glances before looking back.

Hayato didn't really want to answer the question but since these guys were able to take down a whole lab on their own, then it wouldn't be a good idea to piss them off. "We should be about 9 this year," Hayato motioned to him and Takeshi. "she's maybe a year younger... according to her brother, and that kid never ceases to remember that he is 6."

"I see." Was all the Japanese man said, but in all the adults' minds, they wondered how they could survive all this time despite being so young. It made them all feel pity towards the kids, especially as they saw the two older boys looking over the younger ones, watching Knuckle like a hawk as he dressed their wounds. If the sun guardian said that it wasn't intimidating at all, then he would be lying through his teeth because the kids were putting a scary amount of pressure on him with their stares alone.

"Well, let's start heading out now shall we?" Giotto announced as Knuckle finished his first aid and tried to make the atmosphere be a bit more comfortable (mainly for his and his guardians' sakes). He then offered to carry Lambo while Daemon was carrying Chrome, however, the other two refused to be touched. There was still a large amount of distrust in their eyes but they still decided to follow the people who did save them from their prison hole.

"We'll come with you like we decided but that doesn't mean we'll comply with everything you do." Hayato warned. "And we only allowed you to touch those two because we don't want them to injure themselves further." The silverette thought it would be a good idea to lay down a few lines between them and these adults since it wouldn't do to have them think that they, namely himself, would trust them so readily just because they had saved them. Then Takeshi decided to add something as well.

"And just because you say family, that doesn't make us one. You're only using it as a glorified title that creates an illusion of close familiarity. It's nothing but a lie." The boy coldly stated. The adults were slightly frozen with shock at the words that came from their mouths but from their background, they supposed that they couldn't blame them for coming to that sort of conclusion, and yet, it left a sour feeling in their gut. These boys were more mature than they expected them to be and with just a quick glance at their expression, you can clearly see a strong will behind their cold, untrusting eyes. Giotto knew that the atmosphere he wished to create had just dissipated in seconds but regardless, he would stop at nothing to get these kids to trust them. He then led them through the forest and towards where their drivers decided to hide the limo they rode.

"Wow, such a large car." Chrome gasped under her breath.

"That's right my dear, and this is only one of many." Daemon explained to her.

"What a waste of money." Hayato che'd and crossed his arms.

"I agree, but as someone with my profession, it was deemed necessary to keep up pretenses." Giotto explained to the boys. The two just exchanged uninterested glances before returning their gaze to the blond, showing that they didn't really understand much of what he had said. The man just smiled fondly and knelt down towards them. "I mean that because I have a certain image, I have to get these kinds of things to show people that I'm the real deal."

"Right because that's what matters." Hayato muttered sarcastically.

"It does matter because my image showcases my wealth as well as my power. So to an extent, it helps to protect my famiglia as well." He explained a bit further.

"I guess it isn't much of a waste in that case then." Takeshi mumbled, still a bit uninterested.

"So, for now, shall we head home?" Giotto motioned for the kids to get inside.

"B-But what about o-onii-sama?" Chrome protested slightly.

"I'm sure the skylark will get a lead on the escapees, so in the meantime, you will be staying in our home." Daemon told the girl in his arms. She looked a bit uneasy still, but regardless nodded her head slightly at the man. Alaude on the other hand looked ticked off by the nickname but because of the girl in his opponent's arms, he didn't move. He then went off and walked back into the forest. He looked towards Giotto, signalling that he would inform him of anything that he finds right away before disappearing.

The group then went into the large car and drove off back towards their home. The kids had remained silent the entire time unless someone had asked them something but even then, they only said little compared to before. Hayato and Takeshi did most of the talking as well but Hayato refused to say what had happened when he was separated from the others.

"You know, you don't have to be so reserved around us. We aren't like those men." Asari told the kids with a smile. He tried to ease them into the idea of living with them from then on but they still didn't budge from their silence. So for the remainder of the car ride, they sat silently and for the adults, uncomfortably until they reached the mansion.

"Ah home sweet home." Lampo couldn't take the suffocation of the limo anymore and jumped out immediately. Knuckle was the next one out, followed by Daemon, then G, Asari and finally Giotto and the kids. The two boys helped Chrome towards the door and gave her a bit of space, signalling Giotto that it was alright to lift her again. He motioned towards the young girl until a shrill cry of glee met his ears and he flinched before turning around.

The blond had turned to see Daemon open his arms to greet the girl but she just rushed past him, much to his shock and dismay. If Alaude was here, he'd be quick taunt the melon. "My Elena..." Daemon fell to his knees and turned to see the woman fawn over the newly discovered kids.

"What darling children~" she smiled openly and reached for Chrome to pick her up. "My dear, you look just like my husband." She admired her and didn't mind the girl's eye patch even though Chrome herself was super self-conscious about people staring at her 'eye'.

"That was just as I had thought my dear, except she resembles more of your beauty." Daemon had suddenly sprung back to life and was immediately beside Elena.

"Mou~ don't say that in front of the children." She giggled. The bluenette then chuckled along with her.

"Ugh, another reason why adults are not to be trusted." Hayato muttered with disgust as the two gushed on. But he had to admit, from his viewpoint, the three really did look like a family and could've easily fooled him if they told him that they really were. Takeshi was just as surprised since he looked like he had the same thought. The boys then jumped out of the car with Lambo between them and Elena took notice of them again.

"Hello, I'm Elena but if you don't mind, you can call me Mama." The two boys looked a bit skeptical while Lambo just nodded dumbfoundedly. Chrome just hid her face in an attempt to hide her blushing. "Pardon my late introduction, but may I hear your names as well?" She looked at them expectantly. Hayato felt like he couldn't just ignore her, especially when she makes that sort of bright expression. So one by one, they told their names and she nodded attentively, making sure that they knew she was listening.

"Okay, Hayato-kun, Takeshi-kun, Lambo-kun and Chrome-chan. Good, so I hear that you four will be staying with us for the time being. I'll inform the maids to set up a few new rooms and have you children eat something first. You look like you haven't had a decent meal in days."

"Because that's how it was." Hayato grimaced and walked inside on his own, following where the other male adults had disappeared to when they walked into the building, dragging Lambo by the hand. Takeshi followed as well, his head facing downwards so as to hide his expression.

"Oh my, I didn't mean it in that way." The woman looked very apologetic. "I was just worried because you all are so thin." She told no one particularly but Chrome just looked at her and nodded.

"M-Mama Elena m-means well. 59-san is just a bit angry." She muttered shyly. Elena then grew gushy once again as he eyes started welling up with tears.

"Thank you Chrome-chan but you don't have to call them by their numbers any longer. You are a family now, aren't you? You should be able to call them as you wish; respectfully of course. A lady must always be polite even when others aren't polite to you." She explained.

"Un." Chrome muttered shyly.

"How about we practice, the next time you see one of the onii-chans, tell them, 'Hello, Takeshi-nii or Hayato-oniichan.' Or however else you want to call them. Understood?" Chrome simply nodded but that wouldn't satisfy Elena anymore and waited for Chrome to respond using words.

"Yes Mama." She said partially loud.

"Good, now how about we follow your brothers into the house and you can take a look around with them." The woman then followed the men inside. She then saw the group gathered in the entrance hall and walked up towards them.

Giotto was about to speak when Lampo suddenly yawned. "Uwahhh~ I'm beat. I'd love to stick around and show the brats around this enormous place but I'm gonna go for a bit and do something." The green haired man stretched and left.

"How ironic, a brat calling kids brats." G grumbled.

"It's fine isn't it? After all, I'm sure the kids don't need everyone here to show them around." Asari smiled.

"Whatever, the kid'll probably be a nuisance or find a way to ditch in the middle anyways." The red head finally let the issue go. Giotto was glad that he was able to start the tour now and everyone was here except for Lampo and Alaude and the only reason Daemon was still around was because Elena was still around.

Giotto now started speaking to the three kids and explaining the mansion to them. It was a fairly large entrance hall with many rooms, two large staircases leading up to the second floor where you could see from where they stood, railings lining the left and right walls with many doors behind them. Also a second set of staircases branching from the second floor leading upwards towards the center and moving straight north towards the third floor. Also, straight ahead on the ground level was a fairly wide hall hidden behind the wall with two large white, wooden doors. There was also a large chandelier hanging from between the space where the second floor staircases disappear into the ceiling (which is the bottom of the third floor), and many paintings plastered on the walls. There were a few floors in the building, 3 above ground (including the ground level) and 3 below (for secret mafia related things).

"So for now, the below levels will be off limits and your rooms will be located on the third floor. Up there on the right." Giotto pointed up the staircase. He then motioned for the kids to follow him up to the second floor to show them a bit more. He then pointed down the right corridor and said that these rooms (the east wing) were extra rooms and such, and that right above is where they will be located. Towards the left is where the other staircase connected, leading to the left wing of the building or the west wing.

"Now through the center here," he walked towards the west wing and stopped at the three way intersection of the floor. Towards the north, heading towards the back of the building, there was a long corridor which had many doors on the left side and windows on the right with a few glass doors leading to an open area on the rooftop, "there are two accesses to the library on the left side here and the same number of doors on the ground floor below. The library itself is about 4 floors and covers the majority of the west wing. Downstairs is also the entrance to the dining hall where we will have all of our meals together as a family. At the very back of the house is the ballroom for events and such. Also, the west wing on the ground floor is where the maids, butlers and other workers have their rooms, so if there's ever a trouble, you can always come to them. We handpicked them ourselves so they are very capable, approachable people." Giotto smiled at the kids who seemed to be listening attentively, the two older boys anyways.

"Of course, we don't expect you to be able to navigate through this mansion right away so if you ever need anything, we are always here for you. So no need to hesitate if you need something." Asari added. "There are entertainment rooms and music rooms and guest bedrooms and such but we will show them to you eventually. The bathrooms are also located through this door, the door down that hall and there's one in the library too." The man pointed to one three doors down the east hall and to one somewhere down the west wing. "There should be another one on the third floor somewhere and some rooms have their own." He quickly added.

"Very accurate flute face." G grumbled in annoyance.

"We'll manage." Takeshi mumbled.

"I know it's a lot to take in but like we said, if you ever need anything, please do not hesitate to ask us. That's what we're here for." Giotto reassured.

"Yes and we have our rooms up on the third floor as well and Giotto has his office down at the very end of the north wing. It's very easy to find." Knuckle mentioned.

"Okay, okay, we will show these rooms to the children later. For now, we should get them settled into their own rooms." Elena stopped the explanations and motioned down the hall. "I had some already prepared so you children may settle in them now." She sounded excited started to go towards the staircase leading to the third floor, Chrome still sitting in her arms.

Hayato and Takeshi just exchanged glances before following once again. Lambo was a bit nervous, sleeping on his own for the first time in a long while but he decided he was a big boy, so he wanted to show that he can be on his own even just for the night time. Chrome on the other hand was absolutely terrified of sleeping on her own, especially without her brother near or around, but for the convenience of others, she decided to keep it to herself.

"Hayato-kun will be here," Elena was in the middle of the east wing 3rd floor hallway and motioned the kids to their rooms. Hayato's room was on the left side of the hall along with Lambo while Chrome and Takeshi were opposite, having rooms on the right. Each one was nicely furnished with a bed way larger than it needs to be for the children, a desk, a dresser, a bookshelf and a fairly big closet. There was also a large window with velvet curtains and a chiffon sheet partially blocking the sun. Hayato looked outside the window to see the balcony/patio area below that connected to the hall where the library entrance was. He then saw beyond the building was a large green back area as well. He also noticed that his room and the other rooms beside had a small balcony big enough for maybe two or three adult bodies. The others' rooms were fairly similar except for the furniture placement and a few rooms were connected to ones beside them via small hatches for emergencies.

The kids were impressed by the rooms yet at the same time, overwhelmed due to the major contrast between this and what they had gotten used to living in. "So shall we leave you children to settle in or would you like for us all to eat first?" Elena asked them as she put Chrome down on unsteady legs.

"Lambo-san is hungry." The kid whined much to the annoyance of the silverette.

"Che, might as well do what the kid wants, otherwise he'll blow a gasket." He held in his anger. Takeshi just shrugged while Chrome was a bit uncertain.

"What's the matter dear?" Elena's motherly instincts kicked in suddenly.

"Na- er... Ch-Chrome doesn't w-want to eat w-without Onii-sama." She trembled as she spoke softly.

"Oh my dear, don't you fret, I'm sure you're brother and many other friends will join us here soon. But for now, it won't do them any good if you are not feeding yourself properly. You need to be healthy to become strong." Elena held the girl's hand and helped her walk little by little. Eventually, she started to carry her again so that she could get some food into the little girl as quickly as she could.

The two older boys also liked the idea of food but for some reason, they felt guilty for being able to eat so much. So when they got down to the ground level and entered the dining hall, they only sat there. And after all the adults gathered, the food was served to them and they all started eating, except for the 4 children.

"Is something the matter?" Giotto asked them.

"Is something wrong with the food brats?" G eyed them.

"I believe Lambo has trouble eating on his own." Elena scooped up the child and helped him reach his food by sitting him in her lap. He then clumsily started to eat. "You shouldn't eat too too much dear, I don't want you to get sick." She warned him. Elena then turned towards the other four.

"Is something not to your liking, children?" But the three just shook their heads.

"Then what's the matter? I'm sure you are all starving." She said worriedly.

"I-It's just..." Takeshi started, looking down at the food guiltily.

"You know boys, like Elena told Chrome before, it won't help your friends if you are starving yourselves here. In order to be strong, you need to be healthy first." Giotto told them much to their surprise.

"How did you..." Hayato was a bit surprised.

"Call it my... intuition." The blond smiled in response. "There's no need for you to feel guilty eating and there's no need to punish yourselves for wanting to go ahead and eat. If you're roles were reversed with two others and they were eating while you were still... at that place, would you hold it against them if they ate without you?" He questioned them.

After a moment of silence, the two shook their heads. "So if you are willing to forgive them, then I'm sure they will be willing to forgive you as well. Am I right?" The two nodded this time.

"I-it's just not fair to them." Takeshi responded.

"Onii-sama hasn't eaten many good things... I want to give this to him." Chrome motioned towards her portion.

"Chrome, we promised that we'll rescue your brother and your friends. When we get them, there will be plenty of food to go around. So please eat, at least a little bit. And that goes for you boys as well." Giotto eyed them.

Finally, after a few more cautious glances, the three started to eat even though they took small slow bites, but regardless, the adults couldn't help but feel happy seeing the children indulge themselves in the food. Even though they didn't show it on their faces, Giotto could sense that they were feeling joyous and grateful for having such delicious food to eat. After giving a small fond smile, the man turned towards the window and noticed the sun's absence and wondered how Alaude was doing right now. It had been a good few hours since they left him out there to investigate but he had no idea how long it would take the man to find the next facility where the Estraneo had escaped to, let alone find a clue as to their whereabouts. So if the blond doesn't contact them within about 2 days, then he'll send another small team to help search the area. But he really does believe in his subordinate and decided to place his full trust that he'll find something and will report back immediately if not soon.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

After about 5 hours of searching around the perimeter he established (after a short nap from the previous day's work), the blond finally found a lead on the whereabouts of the Estraneo. Of course he thanks his bird lookouts for the extra help in his search so that he could cover more ground faster than he could do working by himself. Alaude, after getting a tip from a hawk, was stalking the grounds quietly so that he wouldn't draw any unwanted attention and looked around. He heard a few voices yelling a bit earlier and heard the zoom of some cars, similar to the ones from the other day. As he drew closer, he guessed that the lab was near and immediately wrote something on a piece of birch bark. He then whistled and another hawk, that had a purple streak running from its head and down its back, had come flying towards him. It landed on his shoulder and he tied to wood to its leg. He then set it off, but not before giving it instructions to head to the mansion.

The platinum blonde knew his boss would want to know immediately of this location but not wanting anymore criminals escaping than necessary, he took out his handcuffs and began to work. It had taken him a while to narrow down where the location of this facility was, even after the tip from his birds, but he initially figured that it would have to be close. For if they only had that many cells for the amounts of children they held at the previous lab, then they had to have either compacted them all into each cell or they had immediate contact with someone else who must be stationed near enough to send people back and forth constantly.

At minimum, if walking was necessary, which he deemed to have been a correct assumption based on some flattened foliage and a few dried out footprints, then the furthest distance would have to be about 30 minutes by foot. So he searched within the radius that was reachable within about 30 minutes by normal human capabilities. Thus within about a day, he had managed to locate the presumed facility. Now, after the bird had been sent off, like a lion stalking its prey, he softly yet swiftly walked towards the main entrance of the lab and forcefully kicked down the doors, glaring at the men who were stunned in fear and surprise at the newcomer. The skylark smirked as he twirled his cuffs in excitement. "For destroying the peace of the lives of the future, I will arrest you to death."

* * *

><p><strong>Alright~~~ first chapter in a long while done!<br>****Sorry for the long wait  
><strong>**And sorry for the in depth explanation of the mansion  
><strong>**It's how I am… if you want, I could try to draw out a few details to show what I wish it would look like  
><strong>**But yeah, just tell me and I will, if not then its fine too… but fair warning, I'm not the best drawer  
><strong>

**If it seems rushed, I apologize for that too  
><strong>**And if something isn't clear or doesn't sound right, please tell me and I'll do my best to try and fix it ^^  
><strong>**Hope you enjoyed this  
><strong>**Owari desu~~~**

Updated: 09/11/2014


	3. Chapter 3: The Second Raid

**Chiwassu minna-san~~~~  
><strong>**So I'm glad you guys are enjoying this  
><strong>**And I'll guess I'll just jump into it but no promises about regular updates…  
><strong>**School's school and I've been putting off assignments and such  
><strong>**I have a nutrition assignment and an essay due on Tuesday….  
><strong>**But I'm almost done them hehehe  
><strong>**So I finished this really fast and if there are mistakes please tell me and I will fix them immediately… or I'll touch up anything that wasn't clear… thanks~~~~  
><strong>**But yeah, anyways enough rambling…. Let's start~~~**

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: The Second Raid<p>

It had been about a day since the kids had been with the Vongola but there hadn't been much progress with the kids. They were still slightly standoffish and didn't speak much unless spoken to, though Lambo was the exception as he was the loudest and most rambunctious of the four. He tried to persuade them to play and such but eventually, the child turned towards the adults for entertainment. But just as the kids were out in the gardens at the back with Lampo chasing them around while the others watched, Giotto sensed something coming and he looked towards the sky. Knowing who it was, he reached his arm out so that the bird could land on him.

"Is that the stupid hawk?" G walked over towards the blond man who was now trying to get the paper out of the holder on its leg. But the bird reacted to G's comment and screeched at the man and flapped its wings defiantly, preventing Giotto from getting the message.

"Ah, come on Shaye, hold still." Giotto protected his face from the violent flapping. He tried to calm the bird but his words weren't getting through. Then Asari had come and spoke softly towards the bird and eventually it calmed as he stroked its neck.

"You are alright, I'm sure he didn't mean to say what he said. Now apologize G." The Japanese man looked towards the other.

"There's no way I'm apologizing to poultry." He crossed his arms, looking just as defiant as Shaye. The Hawk shrieked in annoyance towards the other man as well.

"He's very intelligent, just say sorry and we'll get the message that Alaude sent." Giotto tried to reason with his right hand man, who was looking a bit more compliant. The red haired man muttered a short sorry as he uncrossed his arms, then looked towards the bird who looked like it would grin with satisfaction.

"Che, just read what the skylark says." G decided to ignore the hawk's seeming smirk and looked his boss. Asari slipped the piece of paper out and handed it to the blond. He unfolded it after passing Shaye over towards the dark haired man and read it quickly before looking towards his guardians.

"Alaude found another base." He told the two.

"So what are we going to do?" Asari asked.

"We'll leave as soon as possible. We'll retrieve Knuckle and Daemon and leave the kids with the maids and Elena. We'll tell Lampo after the kids have gone; I don't want them getting their hopes up or even worse..." But before Giotto could finish, Lampo showed up looking dead tired. When he reached them, he fell back on the grass panting.

"Little monsters have so much energy, it's hard to believe that they were captives only till yesterday. I can't believe you left a prince to babysit." He was about to continue his rant when he noticed the hawk. "Hey, isn't that Alaude's bird?" He questioned not knowing the kids had come up behind him. G was about to clobber him for his unknowingly big mouth.

"That's that scary man's bird? He find the next hole?" Hayato looked at them as if daring them to lie to his face. The men exchanged exasperated looks before deciding to answer. They couldn't afford to lie to them now when the kids clearly knew what the arrival of this bird meant. If they did lie, then they would be blowing their one and only chance to get the kids to warm up to them. With a sigh, Giotto answered the boy.

"Yes, he found the nearest one to your previous... er, hole."

"You leaving soon?" Takeshi asked this time.

"Yes, unfortunately so." Giotto hope this wasn't going where he hoped it wouldn't go.

"Then we're coming along." Hayato crossed his arms defiantly, as if telling the adults that they weren't taking no for an answer. And there's what Giotto thought to be the worst possible outcome. The blond knew his attempt would be useless but he decided to at least try to talk them out of the idea.

"Kids, I know you want to save your friends but you just escaped from that life and we don't want to expose you to that life anymore." Giotto reasoned.

"We lived like that for a long time, what does it matter to go back for at least a day?" Hayato argued. "We don't like it there but because our friends are still sufferin, we can't just sit here peacefully and wait for you to get them. Some of them, I know, are really good at hiding when they escape. So I don't wanna trust you to find them. We'll find them ourselves, right?" He turned to the other three who agreed.

"Sure that's good for you and the other kid," G motioned towards Takeshi, "but you can't make a decision for these two. They have a right to decide for themselves."

'Good job, G.' Giotto thought, partially smiling when his best friend was talking. The silverette just scoffed.

"Alright then, Chrome, Lambo, what do you two want to do?" Giotto knelt down on one knee, bending down to eye level.

"Chrome... wants to find Onii-sama." She almost whispered.

"Lambo-san wants to go go too!"

"Well, it's unanimous, they're coming along." Giotto said to his three guardians with a tired smile.

"I'll call Knuckle and Daemon and meet you at the car." Asari offered and let Shaye fly towards Gioto, but not before whacking G on the head, much to his chagrin.

"Thank you, Asari. Then I guess you'll be leading us there huh, Shaye?" The hawk cooed in response.

"Oh right, coo for him and screech at me." G mumbled, clearly annoyed.

"Cuz you're a mean grouch." Shaye squawked in agreement as Hayato murmured to himself, but not quiet enough .

"You're one to talk brat! How would you know what goes on between me and a bird?!" He then turned to the bird in question. "And you, shut up! No one cares what you think!"

"You clearly do. You keep arguing with him and losing." The boy snickered.

"Ha ha, he got you there." Lampo seemed to be enjoying the little argument a little too much.

"Don't start and just keep your trap shut! Stupid brats, stupid snotty attitude..." G grumbled the last parts as he walked away.

"Okay, well then... shall we head for the car?" Giotto was a bit nervous around the kids since their mouths were like volcanos just waiting to erupt; especially the young explosive stick of dynamite that he oddly found to be a bit too much like his best friend. Though he didn't dwell on it for long as he and Lampo ushered the kids towards where the car was held.

"So you are guiding us, right Shaye?" The blond asked the hawk again for clarification and it slightly bobbed its head up and down, as if nodding. "I'm glad." He smiled as he got in the car. Normally, the bird was just as aloof as his cloud guardian but for some reason, the bird decided to be compliant today. Giotto wondered if it was because of the kids, but then again, the bird was still a bird, so he figured that he shouldn't read too much into it.

The drive towards the forest area was pretty long, especially since it was an area not frequently visited, which would make for a perfect place to keep base. When the road disappeared, they then started walking. Daemon took the liberty of carrying Chrome. Shaye led them through the forest area, though it had taken them a long while till they arrived to the lab. But when they got there, the area was littered with paper, glass and bodies. Some of them were knocked out cold while others just weren't breathing. There was fire burning from the building, especially in the large dome similar to the previous building. The building itself was charred black and the windows and doors were all smashed or ripped off. However, it wasn't the scene that made the adults nervous, it was the children's reaction to the chaos. They just looked around as if it were normal to see people scattered all over the place.

Hayato and Takeshi scanned around to look for any kids and unfortunately, there were a few dozen around the adults. They looked like they were running to escape but go shot down before they made it any further. The Vongolas took note that the kids' bodies were scarred and bruised heavily, but the assumed that it wasn't from the recent escape attempt. The boys recognized a few of them but couldn't even remember their number, let alone their name.

"Alaude seemed to have really trashed this place, huh?" Lampo tried to make the air a bit lighter, but it didn't seem to work.

"The testers probably caused most of this." Takeshi stood over the wreckage with a stone face. "It was a rumour among the survivors but we heard when a hole gets discovered, the Testers have a cleanup session. They take the Deviants away and get rid of the Remainders."

"Okay, I know you mentioned some of those words a few times before but what kind of words are they? I get 'hole' and 'tester', but what do you mean exactly by Survivor, Remainder and Deviant?" G asked them.

"Survivors are what we all ourselves – it's everyone who lives through the hole. Remainders are what Testers call him, her and the brat." The silverette pointed towards the other kids. "I guess they have something like potential but not enough to be a Deviant, someone who survives a crazy experiment and deemed 'special' by the Testers."

"They're the ones kept above ground or are transferred a lot." Takeshi added.

"So the cleanup session is for... getting rid of Remainders?" Giotto somewhat hesitated to ask. The two older boys exchanged glances before answering but were interrupted by another voice.

"Hn. I heard some of them say that as well." The group turned to find Alaude walking up to them without a scratch on him. The hawk then flew over and landed on his owner's shoulder.

"Alaude! What happened here?" Giotto immediately questioned.

The man then explained that when he first discovered the place, the Estraneo were already hustling and bustling to cover their tracks...

_~~~Flashback~~~_

"_Hurry and load the trunks! Lab 231 has been terminated and it won't be long before this one is discovered! We must commence the cleanup immediately." The man speaking through the speakers were yelling orders as the alarm was ringing. _

"_Hurry and grab all the important 'research material' and leave the rest." Everyone was doing as they were told, papers were flying everywhere while kids in sacks were struggling as much as they could against their captors. "Once your duty is done, evacuate! The cleanup will start immediately!" _

"_Hey! Some kids got out!" _

"_Hurry and catch them idiot!" _

"_There's no time, numbers 34, 56, 105 to 110, and whoever else is gone, just kill them on sight! They're replaceable! But we don't need outsiders capturing and examining them!" The men were commanded and they shot on sight. There were some friendly fire casualties but there was no time to think about each other when their own lives were on the line if they didn't finish what they needed to here. Many kids squealed when they heard guns and shouting but they were just kicked and tossed into the trunks of cars and were driven off. _

"_Hurry, all units are out! Whoever is left, shoot those who escape and get rid of the cells!"_

"_Now commencing the cleanup!" _

_Alaude was witnessing all these things happen at once and immediately went into action. He dodged bullets and men running around with a crazy look in their eyes. They didn't pay attention to him as they were all busy doing what they were commanded to do. He just took out his cuffs and started taking down all who was in his path, either knocking them out or unintentionally killing them. He calmly stalked towards the main entrance of the lab and knocked it down shocking those who were inside. _

"_For disturbing the peace of the lives of the future, I will arrest you to death." The men all panicked at the newcomer and they were exclaiming that the building be burned immediately. Some did manage to start the fire but he attacked and subdued many of them already. The dome had been ablaze since he had first come and he figured that opening the door keeping the fire boxed in would be a very bad idea. Many of the rooms were already on fire and the smoke was bothering him tremendously. But before he did anything about it, he heard some men shout from the outside that kids from the first vehicle had escaped. _

"_We need back up to catch them! They're..." But Alaude didn't pay much attention to the rest as the smoke was really bothering him now. So after knocking out all the men, he found a sink and filled a small tub with water he found. He then threw the water in the air and with his cloud flames, multiplied the amount of water, effectively washing out most of the fire. He looked in some rooms and noted that there were many pages around. He decided to take a look at them later, if they survived through the fire and water abuse. _

_He then ran down the stairwell, remembering the cells in the lowest level. But as he lowered, he noticed the strong gas that was in the air. Not liking the situation, he covered his mouth and took out a gas mask from his coat that he brought for cases such as this. He then speedily jumped down the flights of stairs and searched for the last door. Upon arriving, he tried to barge through the room but the door was heavily locked. So he broke the door handle and the chains around it and tried to shove it open again, but the door wouldn't open for some reason on the other side. _

_Ultimately, he forced the door to open, moving whatever was inhibiting the door from opening and dreaded the view on the other side. He saw piles of children crowding around the door, most likely trying to escape the gassed room. Some of the gates were open, so he figured that they were empty, but the closed ones contained children who were either huddled together or sprawled across the floors. Deeming no survivors, he ran back up the stairs and sealed the door to prevent the gas from seeping through, knowing full well what would happen if that gas met the fire remains. _

_He knew that it wouldn't last for long so he quickly ran towards the offices to check if there were any surviving records or files but unfortunately, the Estraneo succeeded in destroying them with the fire... though Alaude's water multiplication didn't help the matter either. _

_Next the man looked around the upper levels quickly to see if there were children like Hayato who were left behind, but found none or dead ones. Alaude narrowed his eyes in disappointment at the brutality of the ones who weren't even worthy of being called a Famiglia and walked back outside to report to his boss who had just recently arrived. _

_~~~ End Flashback ~~~_

"Ah yes, it seems that some children had escaped from the first vehicle that left here. Unknown how far they are as there weren't many men here compared to the other lab." Alaude reported.

"They must've known we would be looking for another facility in the area, so when they hightailed from the first lab, they ran back here and started preparations right away." G thought with annoyance. "So they must be pretty far from here." Suddenly, a loud gun shot was heard in the distance and Chrome and Lambo freaked out from hearing it. Asari tried to calm them with his rain flames but it didn't have much of an effect on them for some strange reason, just like the sun flames. So he decided to do it the old fashioned way and stroked their heads and comforted them.

"Don't worry, we won't let anything happen to you all. You know you can trust us right? I promise we won't let anything harm you anymore." The man smiled warmly towards them. The two youngest just looked towards each other, then the other two boys, then back towards the man before nodding cautiously. Asari was happy with the response, it was small and uncertain but it was still something.

"We have to see what happened out there." Giotto told them. "Lampo, you stay here with the children and we'll be back soon." He then ran with the others following him before Lampo could protest.

"He- wait! I said you can't leave a prince to babysit!" He pouted.

"Gee, I wonder who has to babysit who." Hayato said sarcastically towards the man.

"Shut up, brat." Lampo said crossly.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Hurry, we have to run faster." A boy with jet black hair grabbed a small brunette's hand and dragged him through the foliage, but he was having a hard time as the smaller boy was holding onto another girl's hand.

"92-chan, hang in there. We'll make it." The small boy reassured.

"Enough talking, you'll run out of air." The older scolded.

"Extreme running!" a white haired boy was carrying another boy whose arm was bleeding out from the gun shots earlier.

"Shut up doofus, you're too loud." Another blond boy who was dragging a girl behind him scolded. "And you, hurry up back there. If you get left behind, we can't do anything about it. This is do or die!" He called to another younger boy behind him.

"They're this way!"

"Hurry! After them!" a few men were running after the kids with guns at hand.

"Che, they're closing in. What do we do?" the blond boy asked the black haired boy.

"Just keep moving. We have to meet the others that were separated but we can't with Enforcers on our trail." He answered.

"Haa, haa, haa... Kyo-" the small brunette started but the older boy pulling him jerked his arm a little to interrupt his sentence.

"I told you, use our numbers as code names; we don't want any outsiders looking us up." He said, not slowing down in the least bit. "And I said not to speak, save your words for later."

"There they are! We have to retrieve the irreplaceable Deviants, hurry and get them. Shoot if you have to." The commander exclaimed.

"Aim for the legs men!" Another ordered.

"Take cover!" The white haired boy exclaimed and they ducked, narrowly escaping the barrage of bullets. The dark haired boy pushed the brunette's head down lower under the large tree root that they were hiding behind. The boy did the same to the girl.

"Are you alright? 92-chan?" He asked the girl.

"H-Hai... b-but, m-m-my..." she then gestured to her stomach and there was a lot of blood seeping through the remains of her clothes.

"Ah Ky- er... 18-san, 92-chan got hit." The brunette was panicking slightly, trying to stop the bleeding immediately. He lied her down and told her to put pressure on the wound.

"I told you to keep your head down herbivore." 18 said pushing his head below the root again. "Do you want them to blow your brains out?"

"But if we don't help her, she'll..." Just then a loud shout interrupted them and the shooting stopped. Deeming the situation a bit safe, 18 peered over the root and saw that the blond kid was grabbed while the tiny boy who was lagging behind was on the ground – dead. A few feet away was another kid and the girl he was with. He sensed the loud white hair a few feet away from him as well and was with two other kids too.

'So there are two injured, one captured and three dead.' He thought, weighing the options. He wondered about going back to rescue the blond but with the amount of men there, they were outnumbered and could be killed or even worse, captured again. He then thought of moving on to meet the other escapee group and leaving him behind but he knew that the brunette would never let him live it down. It was a difficult decision for him so he thought hard on it until the blond interrupted his thoughts.

"Hey! Forget me and go! I'd rather die than bring everyone down because of me." The boy exclaimed.

"We can't leave you to the extreme!" The white haired boy exclaimed.

"I said leave!" He yelled again but then was slapped in the face.

"Shut up brat. Just because you're a Deviant, it doesn't mean you're irreplaceable." The man threatened him but the kid didn't seem fazed by the threat at all and returned the glare. Not liking the attitude of the kid, he decided to make another announcement. "Hey! I know you kids are out there. So if you don't surrender yourselves, this kid'll be eating dirt." There was no response as they were still hesitating on what to do. The white haired boy couldn't take the suspense anymore and just wanted to jump and punch the men's lights out, and he was about to do just that when the man spoke again. "And just to make your decision a bit easier, if you were planning on meeting up with those other subjects, no need..." Number 18 dreaded what was next to come and was about to cover the brunette's ears but he wasn't fast enough. "they're all dead."

Shock filled the children in hiding. They hadn't the slightest idea what to do at the moment and things just seemed to be getting worse and worse. "If you don't make your decision soon, then..." and before finishing his sentence, the man holding the blond broke the boy's right arm causing him to release a spine chilling cry. Not being able to take any more of the stress, the brunette finally jumped out of hiding.

"Ah, so number 27 was in this group after all." The leader grinned eerily as the boy came out.

"You only need me right? Please leave the others alone and I'll come with you..." the boy was then shot in the leg causing the others to pop out to see what happened. Leaving the girl behind, 18 ran out immediately without a second thought and looked over the brunette's wound.

"Thinking about it, the brat's right. Who cares what happens to the others right?" The leader pondered on the thought.

"And the Japanese kid there is a real pain, we should just get rid of him and find someone else to replace him." Another suggested.

"Yeah, one who would listen better." Another man agreed.

"So what's the plan commander?" They looked towards him.

"Fire at will." He grinned maniacally as the blond in their arms was shot dead. They cackled as the body dropped and 27 just watched with despair at the loss of another friend. He felt anger bubbling up inside of him but it was soon extinguished and replaced with more dread as the girl hiding away from him was shot after a barrage of bullets came flying her way. She was quick enough to dodge many of them, but couldn't evade them all.

"Anger to the extreme!" The white haired boy exclaimed, finally losing it and going berserk. 18 also readied himself to fight the men as another was eventually shot dead. Not wanting the brunette to be next, he jumped into action alongside the loud other. As the older boy jumped into action, he looked towards the small brunette, silently signalling for him to get back into hiding. He struggled with his leg but he managed to get a bit further from the chaos, though he was regretting leaving the fighting to the others. He then noticed that the girl he was with wasn't hiding in the same spot anymore and found her wandering about the clearing turned battlefield still bleeding from the stomach.

"92-chan, what are you doing?!" He was about to run towards her when pain shot up through his body and he fell roughly against the ground. He looked around and found that there was only him, her, the two fighting and the boy who was being carried early who were most likely still alive at the moment, so he wanted to do his best to keep all five of them alive. "Please, come back here!"

Hearing the boy shout, the Japanese boy turned around and glared at the brunette. "What are you doing herbivore?! I told you to get back!" He exclaimed, taking his mind off the fight for a few seconds.

"Kyoya-san! Look out!" The younger warned in desperation as the man held a gun towards his friend.

"You look away, you die kid." The man, the commander, had a batter face and was bleeding from his mouth yet he had the same eerie smile. But just then, he was suddenly shot before he shot his own gun and fell dead near the blond. Just then another group of adults bolted from the bushes and the black haired boy ordered the white haired to fall back. 18 ran towards 27 and scooped him up and ducked back behind the roots. He then looked over to where the other boy was and scowled when he saw that he didn't retrieve the other girl. They crawled over towards the other boy to hide together.

"Idiot, you left her." 18 scolded again.

"I didn't know to the extreme." The other tried to whisper. The two then looked back over to see what the newcomers would do. The girl, on the other hand, had suddenly come to her senses as the men jumped out in an ambush and she fell backwards in both pain and shock. The kids continued to watch as the group of men fought against the Enforcers and easily overpowered them. They really weren't people they should mess around with. 18 then motioned that they use the chaos as a cover to grab the girl and bail but the commotion died as quickly as it had started.

"What are these guys? Chumps?" The red haired man crossed his arms. "Not much of a fight." He sounded disappointed. Then a black haired priest had suddenly received orders to help the children. Not liking the sound of that, the two able boys quickly devised a makeshift plan as the priest reached the little girl.

"Hello sweetheart, there's no need to be afraid anymore. I'm here to help you." He said as gently as possible but the girl persisted to tremble as he got closer to her. He reached out a hand for her to grab but she rejected violently and desperately tried to claw her way away from the man and back towards her companions despite her bleeding. The man pleaded for her to stop but she continued to resist. That was when the black haired boy jumped at him and attacked full out while the other ran to pick her up and took her back towards the brunette.

"92-san, are you alright? We have to stop the bleeding Onii-san! Use that yellow stuff please!" The brunette begged even though his own leg was in pain.

"I tried to the extreme but it won't work enough to heal completely." He said in a shaky, panicked voice. He felt so powerless, though it was a normal feeling for him.

"I-It's o-okay." The girl raised a shaky hand towards the brunette. "A-At lea-st I-I w-won't g-go in the h-ole or the c-cell." She gasped in pain but tried her best to smile through it.

"No! You won't go! You'll survive and live away from here! Please... we can't lose you too." He cried as she slowly went limp. Suddenly, there was a crack and the two boys' eyes widened as they turned towards it. Ryohei was about to get the young boy who was underneath some large leaves when the red haired man came out.

"Geez you kids aren't easy to find. Guess that brat wasn't kidding when he said that some of them were good at hiding." The redhead sighed in annoyance. The two boys saw the red haired man and a dark haired man with a pointy hat appear from the shrubs. They then noticed the smaller boy hidden under some leaves.

"Don't touch him!" The extremist exclaimed, readying his fists. Not listening, the man knelt down and took away the blanket of leaves covering the little body. He then frowned and looked towards the two boys.

"Unfortunately kid, this one's been dead for a little while already." He then turned towards the white haired boy. "Did you carry him here?" He nodded. The red head then scoffed. "Gee, talk about carrying dead weight." The older boy tensed as the tall Japanese man whacked his companion's head.

"G, inappropriate timing." The other narrowed his eyes.

"Uh... sorry kid. Didn't mean any harm by it, it was a small joke." The man, G, tried to apologize, scratching the back of his head.

"Joke? That wasn't an extreme joke! Making fun of people who are running for their lives!" He was about to attack when the small brunette stopped him.

"O-Onii-san...please, no more f-fighting." The brunette, looked down, his eyes covered by his hair and tugged on his shirt. However the other boy didn't seem to want to settle down.

"But I promised 18 that I would protect you until he gets back. And I never go back on my word." He argued.

"P-Please... I d-don't want an-yone else h-hurt..." and before he finished his sentence, the brunette collapsed from blood loss.

At that moment, the older boy finally stood down and caught the younger before he hit the ground. "S-Sawada! Oi!" He paled, forgetting to use the codename. G then pushed him out of the way and did the examining himself. Of course the child protested immediately. "I said you can't touch him!" He bursted out but was silenced with the redhead's glare.

"Don't you want to save him or do you want another corpse?" G then lifted the child in his arms and ran towards the clearing. "Asari, take the kid over too." He yelled before disappearing.

"Well, I guess we should be heading back as well." Asari looked down towards the child. He didn't respond but the adult sort of expected it. "I'm sure your friend will be just fine. We have the best doctor here with us, so he'll make sure that he'll live. Alright?" He knelt down at eye level and looked at him with sincere eyes. After much debate, he finally agreed, thinking that he couldn't just leave Sawada to get taken away on his own. If he did let that happen, then Hibari would have his head.

* * *

><p><strong>Alright! I finished this faster than I thought<br>****Think of it as an early just in case Christmas present…  
><strong>**No promises that I'll update this fast or that each chapter will be this long all the time  
><strong>**Just because I have a lot of things to do during the holidays ^^  
><strong>**But I'll do my best… just please hang in there  
><strong>**And thanks again for the lovely reviews~~~ Good booster for me (~^ 0^)~**

**And please excuse any mistakes or the rushedness  
><strong>**Any questions, just review it or pm me ^^  
><strong>**Thanks again… and till next time  
><strong>**Owari desu~**

Uploaded: 17/11/2014


End file.
